Merry Christmas folks! If you're looking to zig rather than zag, to have a mala cocktail rather than a Manhattan, then the newish under-the-rader Oriental Elixir on the 2nd floor of a Haji Lane shophouse (look for Bergs signboard) - will be just the spot. It's by the same folks who opened Spiffy Dapper, and in fact the decor and set up was similar to Spiffy's. A Tanglin gin-based bar that does their own mad scientist infusions using locally-sourced Asian ingredients is probably a good way to describe this cocktail joint. There's no menu - you simply tell them what you like/dislike - and they will concoct something to surprise you. Prices will be around the $20+ range I suppose! A small price for a big experience.

I went with 3 friends and together we sampled a range from the fruity to the savoury. Yes, savoury!

First there's my drink (the one with the metal straw) made with papaya infused gin and pineapple apple cider vinegar, lychee syrup and lemon.

Then my friend's request for something botanical saw a sweet Kaffir lime leaf gin with sugar, lime, and Sichuan peppercorn bitters. She liked it though the sweetness can be toned down.

The really weird one was the shrimp gin with mala syrup, sichuan peppercorn bitters, lemon, egg whites and ghost pepper bitters. It was like having a meal in an alcoholic cocktail format. Somewhat weird and wonderful if you're into an adventure!

Lastly, the crowd favourite was my other friend's drink with the same botanical but refreshing request. He got one made with pani poori syrup, Tanglin mandarin chilli gin, lime juice and egg whites. It was the right balance and was even spicier than the shrimp gin one.

For those looking to live life on the wild side, do check out Oriental Elixir and let one of the two mixologists (aka crazy scientists) there speak to you about how and what they do! Cheers.

What's coastal Italian cuisine you might wonder? You might heard that the new Caffe Cicheti at South Beach was described as serving such food. Well, it is still Italian style but features a touch more seafood since they have the access to it from the sea, making it a bit more Mediterranean. And that's the perfect transition from Australian brunch cafe Finn's to this new concept by the same owners of the Cicheti family. Cicheti means little plates and since opening up the original woodfired pizza and pasta place at Kandahar St, they have since opened Bar Cicheti at Jiak Chuan Rd and now, Caffe Cicheti.

Here's the short 2 page menu (love) with just 6 sections - the panini being only available from lunch at 11.30 to 2.30pm. Prices are also very very ok for where they are.

We started with some Sardine Fritte (S$18) with garlic aioli. Straight up coastal feels, haha. It was nice and crunchy but not very remarkable. Maybe get some prosciutto to pair with their lovely wine list (more relaxed, organic/natural wines available) instead. 2.5/5

We also had the appetising Panzanella (S$15) featuring heirloom tomatoes, stracciatella cheese, Spanish onions, cucumber and herb croutons. For cheese lovers this is a tangy and creamy one to whet your appetite! I felt it was exactly that, and a good way to start even if no technical skills were involved. 3/5

We also sampled an off-menu special of octopus and kale, or Polpo if you want its Italian name. This was well-seasoned and the octopus was soft and tender, like a sea potato. Try requesting this if you are there for a starter dish!

On to the star. The Pesto pasta (S$22) was such a simple but scrumptious dish with the generous use of basil and grounded pine nuts on al dente spaghetti. One of my personal favourites of the night. Everyone knows I'm a pasta monster. 4.5/5

The Gnocchi (S$23) with mushroom veloute, forest mushrooms and shaved parmigiano was delicious too. Those naughty balls of dough were bouncy and bright without being too monotonous. For vegetarians this or the Pesto pasta are both good dishes to have! 3.5/5

Then there's the Cioppino (S$26) for seafood lovers. It's a rich seafood stew with flower clams, grey prawns, squid, big fat scallops alongside some very well-baked homemade focaccia (so addictive!!). I had hoped the stew to be even thicker for the bread to soak up, but the generous servings of ingredients more than made up for it.

By the way, don't turn your attention away from the sides because the Brussels sprouts (S$10) was AMAZING. The pomegranate molasses and candied pecan really elevated this to a buttery umami-ness that was unexpected. What a dark horse! I think even non-fans of brussels sprouts will change their mind when they have the ones here.4.5/5 In comparison the Asparago (S$13.50) in the background was so-so only at 3/5.

That prepared us for the proper main dish - the flavourful Iberico pork with granny smith apple and kale (S$29.50). The apple slices are a bit sad but really what you are there for is the lean, juicy cuts of pork. It was fantastic but we were so stuffed we could barely finish this! 3.5/5

To end off we had another amazing dish, the Giandula semifreddo (S$12.50) dessert. It looked unassuming but it's like having Italian frozen Nutella (yes there's a difference where it is made) ice cream with crunchy hazel choconut bits. No kidding! It's homemade and definitely a MUST-ORDER item when you are here. It's ok to break away from the Tiramisu mold, you know.. 5/5

The lighter Olive oil cake with vanilla gelato (S$11) would be for those who are looking for a sweet but gentle ending to the meal. The citrusy olive cake wasn't too dense and balances well with the gelato! 4/5

We had our desserts paired with this wonderful Sourgal Moscato d'Asti, which was scrumptious on its own. I have a fatal attraction to these sweet wines, and this was just perfect in its slightly tart but light sweetness to refresh the palate! Throughout the meal we had wine recommendations and they went so well with it so if you're there be sure to get something paired!

It was overall a wonderful meal at Caffe Cicheti. I couldn't recommend this place enough since relaxed, modern and good Italian restaurants are hard to find but this has managed to squeeze right in. And I heard that starting from January they will be launching their all-Vegetarian menu with 15 meat-free dishes. Yay!

Caffe Cicheti

26 Beach Road, #B1-21 South Beach, Singapore 189768

Brunch/lunch from 11.30am (11am on Sat, 10.30am on Sundays) to 2.30pm (4.30pm on Sundays); dinner from 5.30pm to 10pm (no dinner on Sundays)

Do you often feel like there's no place good in town for chilling and eating with your friends because it's too crowded everywhere? Well, seek and you shall find because here at Orchard Central, Walking on Sunshine is a lifestyle concept hair salon and cafe bistro that manages to carve out some respite in the midst of it all. I was pleasantly surprised when I was invited a few weeks back to see this Korean concept hidden on the 3rd floor of the OC, which is probably still the least crowded mall in all of Orchard. We also had quite the feast, as this beautiful flat lay shows:

What I really liked about this place is all the greenery with the plants (doesn't matter if its real or fake) everywhere.

Very Instagrammable, this. That will probably be where you see all the mentions of this place and its food.

See? Place to chill! I know many people who would love to remote work from here if they could. And it wasn't too cold/warm/noisy as well.

The cafe counter with its assortment of apparatus.

Here's the entrance walkway from the mall when I look back at it. Half of it is the salon, and the other half the chilling area.

Speaking of food, we had a large assortment of dishes - some better than the others, though generally you couldn't go wrong with most of them.

I felt that the Salmon and Avo rice bowl (S$13.50) was also a bit underwhelming. Even if sushi rice was used, I felt the chunks in there were kinda disparate from each other. 2/5

The BBQ pork ribs (S$24.50) were a tad dry and not very meaty - the fries and mash were great though! 2/5

Same with the Korean fried chicken (S$23.50) unfortunately even though I was really excited to try them. The chicken pieces were probably too big and had to be cooked thoroughly, hence losing some of the moisture in the process. 2.5/5

The rest below however are great! First off, my friend's Mocha drink was in fact smooth, creamy and NOT TOO SWEET. My butter caramel latte was... so if you are looking for a drink try this or their fresh juice infusions (grapefruit!) or tea.

The Honey Ham and Cheese panini (S$18.50) was drizzled with honey and came with bits of raisins, which gave the salty ham/cheese combo a nice pop of sweetness together with the nicely toasted ciabatta. One thing though, it is quite expensive I just realised, for a panini... 3/5

For those who don't like sweet and salty mixed, try the Bulgogi Beef Panini (S$17.50) which was a crowd favourite. The slightly sweet thinly sliced beef went well with the ciabatta for a satisfying bite. Again a little too pricey I reckon for the dish but at least it is not bad! 3.5/5

A hit that evening was this brunchy dish - fried eggs with garlic mushrooms (S$18.50), served with 2 slices of generic sourdough toast. The garlic flavours with the earthy bites of mushroom negated the need for any meat. If the sourdough was even more amazing it would have been the MUST-TRY dish at Walking on Sunshine! 4/5

Do consider their signature dish if you are looking for something a bit more substantial! The coal-roasted chicken with miso pesto (S$23.50) using half organic spring chicken did not disappoint this time. The chicken was tender, juicy and rocked tonnes of flavour. I only docked points for the amount of bones on the chicken.. 3.5/5

Lastly, we tried the Matcha Ice Cream with Waffles (S$12.50), which was one of the highlights for me during the meal because the waffle was chewy, yet crispy on the outside without being burnt. The smooth matcha ice cream also was the perfect compliment and overall the dish manages to look pretty at the same time! 4/5

Overall, Walking on Sunshine is actually quite the good chillax spot for a bite of food and having some coffee, tea while getting away from the hustle and bustle. Not many people know of this place so if you go at the right time you could probably finish half a good book (from the Gateway public library next door) in an afternoon!

Hey guys! In case you don't already know, I'm starting a weekly vlog every Sunday and this is the 4th one I've done so far. I've decided I really enjoyed watching these videos as a memory of my time in Singapore as of *those* moments, and video is a great way to just capture everything.

When I was at AMK Hub today I wondered out of curiosity if the Singaporean outlet of the popular Taiwanese lu rou fan, or braised meat rice, shop called Jin Feng 金峰 has already opened. Turns out they have! It's endearingly called Jiak (means eat in Hokkien, a shared dialect we have here and in Taiwan) and was open since last week! And when I saw it was operating and had no queue today, I knew I had to set my lunch quota aside to try it.

A rather simple menu with a few star items on it.

Here's the menu at a closer glance. A main, basic Lu Rou Base (mushroom braised pork on rice or rice noodles) costs S$4.90 for a medium and S$5.90 for a large. Incredible value! They also have the braised pork belly version for a dollar more on the M and $1.50 more from the large. As well as a "rou geng" 肉羹 base which I didn't understand was what. You can also make it a combo to add on chicken wing/chop or the rou geng. I just got the basic order, plain, because I wanted no distractions.

A lot of curious bystanders and people just perusing their menu but not many queuing. I had to wait for one person to collect their food before I got mine.

Meanwhile, would you take a moment to admire these glorious salty crispy fried chicken just like I did?

Here's my lunch box, which I had to get home to consume because there was no seating - Jiak is only a takeaway stall!

Tadah! Here's how it looked when I unboxed it.

Verdict? Damn friggin good. It's amazing how something as simple as fatty pork braised in good sauce can be so foodgasmic. The braised egg was a nice touch, while the cucumbers were pickled (not like the raw ones in nasi lemak) so it lent a good tart crunch and cut through to the fattiness. The rice was normal and in fact quite generous for the price since this is definitely more than the typical round metal bowl serving.

Need I say more, it's definitely worth checking out because there's nothing quite like it here in Ang Mo Kio (I would know) or nearby, so if you are looking for a taste of Taiwan, this is it! I'm glad they have managed to open their first outlet here in Singapore - please do open more!

Here's my weekly vlog for 1-8 Dec 2019 where I tried the exotic cocktails from Elixir Bar at Haji Lane, together with my Glowless patch that's supposed to tone down the Asian Flush that I experience after drinking. It sorta worked. Watch to find out!

I am, unfortunately, not going to be around this Christmas and NYE to celebrate in Singapore because I'll be off to JAPAN to see and fall into snow for the first time ever in my life. Yes, I've never actually felt real powdery snow before nor seen it so it's time to make it happen before I turn into a senior citizen. HOWEVER, the good news is Christmas came early this time when Novotel Clarke Quay's The Square buffet restaurant invited us to sample their Christmas (and CNY) menus!

We had the entire buffet spread, including some fresh pasta cooked ala minute, for us to taste! Traditional festive fare such as the 24-hour roasted brine turkey, roasted beef striploin and roasted lamb leg were all up for grabs.

The Baked Gammon Ham with pineapple sauce was one of my favourites from the line up, by the way! Other meaty highlights include the Mediterranean Sea Bass on Papillote and roasted cumin and pepper infued pork ribs with mango.

And of course what's Christmas without some delicious desserts? Just looking at this Torte cake was already enough to make me want to get to a snowy destination.

The Tiramisu was another hit with our table. Layers of coffee and cream, just wonderful!

I also really liked the Lemon Meringue cake with the cute toasted egg white puffs on top.

In case you're wondering, here's how the prices fare. For the whole of December except 24, 25 and 31st, it costs S$48++ for lunch, and S$68++ for the buffet dinner for adults.

For Christmas and NYE Eve it will be an extra S$20++ surcharge, since it's a public holiday so spare some good thoughts for the staff! Anyway it is still very worth it for under $100 to get all that spread without the cooking and cleaning up! For large families and gatherings looking for a fuss-free way to celebrate, I can't think of any better place.

Side note: Novotel Clarke Quay has thoughtfully also prepared their Chinese New Year buffet spread for us to sample, including a giant table of YUSHENG. We were amazed when we got there!

Everyone used super long chopsticks to create some mayhem.

We got a taste of their CNY spread like I mentioned. While it was impressive to get all these dishes out, remember that The Square is more known for their Western and international buffet spread so I wouldn't really go here for their Chinese cuisine as a top choice. BUT when every restaurant in Singapore is either closed or fully booked, remember that Novotel Clarke Quay is open every single day of the year, including CNY!

About me

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I'm Alexis Cheong - A Singapore food and lifestyle blogger. Passionate about good food, travel and beauty or gadgets. This blog is a place where I want to share all the things I love with over 17,700 views per month. Feel free to contact me to say hello or find out how we can collaborate.